World Series 2013 Schedule: Viewing Guide for Fall Classic

This is how you want it if you're a baseball fan. The two best teams during the regular season are facing off in the World Series.

Both the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox finished with identical 97-65 records, earning the top seeds for the playoffs in their respective leagues. Often you see the giants get slain before they can make it to the Fall Classic.

This is only the third time since 1994 that the No. 1 seeds in both leagues have gotten this far, via ESPN Stats and Info.

The entire 2013 postseason has been exciting. Right from the start, fans have been treated to captivating back-and-forth series. The Red Sox could have been bounced in the ALCS, while the Cardinals went the full five against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NLDS.

With any luck, the World Series will be a continuation of the previous rounds. Here's the schedule for the Fall Classic.

Note: * denotes game may not be necessary.

Boston Red Sox

Regular Season Record: 97-65

Number of World Series Wins: Seven (Last in 2007)

ALDS Opponent: Tampa Bay Rays

ALCS Opponent: Detroit Tigers

The biggest thing for the Red Sox is that their offense shows up and remains consistent. They had one of the best lineups in baseball during the regular season, and they beat up a good Rays rotation in the ALDS.

Then came Justin Verlander, Anibal Sanchez and Max Scherzer. Those three, especially Scherzer, had a good series and were let down in a major way by the bullpen.

Against a stacked Cardinals pitching staff, Boston must create runs. It won't be able to count on St. Louis' bullpen throwing the series away.

No player will be more important than David Ortiz. He went just 2-for-22 in the ALCS, with one of those hits being a grand slam in Game 2 that tied the game in the bottom of the eighth. As the regular season leader in batting average, home runs and RBI, more should be expected of "Big Papi" on such a grand stage.

At least the Red Sox should be able to count on the bullpen. Koji Uehara threw six scoreless innings in the ALCS, while Brandon Workman, Felix Doubront and Craig Breslow also failed to surrender a single earned run to the Tigers.

St. Louis Cardinals

Regular Season Record: 97-65

Number of World Series Wins: 11 (Last in 2011)

NLDS Opponent: Pittsburgh Pirates

NLCS Opponent: Los Angeles Dodgers

For St. Louis, it will be interesting to see if Adam Wainwright and Michael Wacha will continue to be as great as they've been the entire postseason. Boston can't counter with a 1-2 punch that good.

Wainwright has been here before, so he shouldn't be too much of a doubt in terms of whether he'll thrive in the Fall Classic.

Wacha, on the other hand, is a 22-year-old rookie who was just selected in the 2012 draft. Now he's coming off an MVP performance in the NLCS and expected to be an anchor for the Cardinals rotation. It's a lot of pressure for such a young, inexperienced player.

St. Louis has an offense with its fair share of question marks, too. Two of its biggest hitters haven't been able to make their presence felt.

Matt Carpenter is just 7-for-42 in the postseason after finishing second on the team in batting average (.318). He'll need to be better in the World Series.

Matt Holliday has also had a tough time. He's 11-for-45 in the playoffs and has driven in just five runs. As one of the Cardinals' biggest bats, he won't be able to stand in the shadows much longer.

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